Edward
But it was during the question and answer period, which lasted an hour, that
Reagan won them over. The students were taking part in something they had
obviously never experienced before. Here was the head of a superpower, the most
powerful nation on earth and one they had been taught was their enemy, answering
questions candidly, clearly, and logically. In an hour's time Reagan gave them a
basic course in civics, the likes of which they had never heard before and would
not soon forget. I must confess that I was transfixed by the way Reagan simply
and convincingly answered their toughest questions. When he finished they gave
him a standing ovation. He had even gotten to me, even though I had heard much
of this before. I applauded too, unabashedly proud of our President.
On the previous evening, I had been at the state dinner hosted by the Gorbachevs.
It was standard fare--a heavy meal, boring dinner conversation, and long toasts.
The Reagans' return dinner was different; a replica of the `beautiful people" state
dinners which had become the Reagans' trademark. When the guests began to
arrive, I was amazed at who had been invited: Soviet ballet stars, athletes, priests,
rabbis, and dissidents. Raisa Gorbachev appeared startled also, at times seeming
to hold back rather than shake hands with the guests, most of whom she had never
met and didn't want to meet.
At my table Gromyko sat on my right and Sakharov on my left. Other seats were
filled by a ballerina, a wrestler, and a priest. I sat next to the famous Soviet mass
production cataract surgeon. He said he would operate on me and charge nothing.
I declined.
Our meal included New England clam chowder, grilled Kansas City steaks, green
asparagus and Idaho baked potatoes. All of this was accompanied by delicious
California wines. For dessert we had deep-dish apple pie and ice cream.
After dinner there were no speeches. Reagan simply delivered a short toast and
before Gorbachev could respond the music struck up at Reagan's signal. He asked
Raisa to dance. An embarrassed Gorbachev shuffled around the floor with Nancy.
The Gorbachevs had been to a dinner like this in Washington, but I'm certain never
expected to attend one like it in Moscow. Unlike the 10 p.m. curfew at Soviet
dinners, the guests stayed long after the Gorbachevs' and Reagans' departure.
We had one more half-day's work in Moscow. This was reserved for beating out
the final communique. It contained nice words, of course, about the ratification
of the INF treaty. But then there was a great deal of sparring to see which side
could get in its own wording to influence the outcome of START. For the most
part, this portion of the communique was devoted to papering over the differences;
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